Losing air pressure on TD4

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Glosterlad

Member
Posts
40
Hi all,
Have owned a landy sports 2005 reg for some 7 years now. It had 49k on the clock.
It now has 103k. Had very few probs other than hose leakages and filters which were subsequently changed.
However, with the front tyres down to near 2mm it was time to change and I changed all 4 for the same brand as before. Pirella Scorpions 18". Well I got over 30k from the last lot so it seemed an obvious choice.
I should add that I have never had a problem with losing air from the tyres in all the time I have had the vehicle. Even with the amount of corrosion showing up on all 4 alloys the beading was holding strong.
After the tyre changes.. a couple of days later I noticed the passenger front was losing air. Down to 25 psi when first checking. I pumped it back up to 31 and decided to monitor. I was losing about 5 psi each day - dependant on distance travelled. My first thought was ..sods law ..brand new tyre and puncture but on returning to KF who fitted the tyres they told me it was not the tyre but the alloy at fault. "Apparently' landys have a reputation for leaking air when the alloys become heavily corroded. Well that was a new one on me. However.. I was all set to have the 'offending' alloy refubished for £85 when I had a light bulb moment. I took the vehicle back to KF and asked them to swap the offending alloy with the spare on the back and to switch the tyres as well. Now when it comes to checking tyre pressures I am pretty methodical and the spare always got a check too. I thought I would check the spare tyre pressure before the switch and found the pressure to be 27 psi. Not bad since I hadn't checked it for several months. I should add that the spare alloy is in excellent condition with no nicks or corrosion. Its never been 'used' while I have had it and it shows no signs of ever being used. Surely, one would think. the swap would do the trick ? But no. A couple of days later I again found a drop in pressure. Pretty much the same pressure drop as with the original alloy. So I took the landy back to KF and asked them to check the tyre again. Surely the tyre at fault ? But no.. KF say the air is coming out of the alloy/beading gap and not the tyre. They said, again, its the alloy corrosion problem again. But this is the alloy never used (well not in my time of having it). So thinking logically about all this.. 1. The alloys have never had this 'bead leak' (or whatever they like to refer to it as) in the my time of ownershiop and 2. The spare alloy has no corrosion that appears visible to me. And yet KF state I need a refurb of this unused alloy. What am I missing here folks. I Could the new tyre have become defected as a result of being used on the 'offending' original alloy such that when mounted on the spare alloy the problem is still there ? Apologies for the longwindedness of this post and also my lack of technical know how. But I would welcome the opinions of others. Particularly those who have found themselves in a similar situation.
 
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It's a common problem with alloys in general, not just LR.
If you were to use a proper tyre workshop, then there is a special rim sealer that can be applied to the rim before the tyres are fitted.
I use always rim sealer on the alloy, if corrosion is evident on the bead. It's not the same as conventional tyre fitting fitting soap.
I expect your new tyre has been slightly damaged by the corroded area of the rim, so now goes down regardless of the condition of the new rim.
Sometimes driving a vehicle with a bead leak can bed the tyre in and cure the leak. However sometimes driving can make the leak worse too.
However if the tyre is removed and the correct rim sealer is used. Then provided the fitter hasn't damaged the bead, the tyre should seal up fine.
 
I seem to be having the same problem, my front pair loose about 5 psi over two weeks and the spare looses pressure too, I was considering tyre slime as a fix???
 
Thanks Nodge and Freelance. Well I guess I first need to return to KF and ask what sealant they used. If they use conventional tyre fitting fitting soap then hopefully the special rim sealant quoted by Nodge may do the trick. But is that something they would use if asked ? And if that didnt work ?. As you rightly say Freelance.. the fault has moved with the tyre. I just cannot see how a brand new tyre fitted to an alloy that never had a loss of pressure with the previous tyre could be the fault.
 
Thanks Nodge and Freelance. Well I guess I first need to return to KF and ask what sealant they used. If they use conventional tyre fitting fitting soap then hopefully the special rim sealant quoted by Nodge may do the trick. But is that something they would use if asked ? And if that didnt work ?. As you rightly say Freelance.. the fault has moved with the tyre. I just cannot see how a brand new tyre fitted to an alloy that never had a loss of pressure with the previous tyre could be the fault.

Because the baboon at ****fit knicked the tyre bead when he fitted it. Quikfit isn't know as ****fit for nothing. ;)
 
Thanks Nodge, Hell.. if the tyre bead has been knicked then would a special rim sealant make any difference if used. Hell I smell a new tyre here. Wonderful. But thanks again for your continued feedback on this !
 
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